Terence Crawford officially became the man to talk about. Heading into his undisputed showdown against Errol Spence Jr., opinions were split right down the middle. Jermell Charlo, however, was standing firmly on the side of his stablemate.
The current junior middleweight boss wasn’t exactly sure how Spence would get it done but he simply knew that at some point, Crawford would be broken down and stopped. To a large extent, Charlo was right, but it was Spence who was on the wrong end of a savage beating.
His power? Irrelevant. His sturdy chin? Broken. Across practically every category, Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) was the better man. Since dominating the former unified welterweight champ, Crawford has been praised as one of the modern-day greats. Some are now playing fantasy matchmaker, going as far as to say that Crawford could take down the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Ray Leonard.
All of the superlatives are being used to describe Crawford’s virtuoso. But, according to Charlo, things are being blown way out of proportion.
“I just think Errol had a bad night,” Charlo told BoxingScene.com. “It wasn’t nothing that made me be like ohhh Crawford is so spectacular.”
Charlo may have yawned while the rest of the crowd at the T-Mobile Arena were clapping in amazement but he did spot a few disturbing trends. Since getting knocked to the canvas in the second round, Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) never appeared right. Time and time again, Crawford landed the harder blows, leaving Spence wobbly throughout.
From the outside looking in, everything appeared to be fought on even terms and a fair playing field. Charlo though, has no idea what anyone is talking about who believes that statement. From his ringside seat, Charlo is convinced that Crawford managed to get away with more than a handful of dirty moves.
“I don’t know why none y’all not talking about those behind-the-head shots. I saw a bunch of behind-the-head shots.”
By Hans Themistode